Welcome Speech at Relay For Life 2024

Opening Speech at Relay For Life 2024 by Relay For Life Chairman, Mr Mak Hoe Kit

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mr Seah Kian Peng, Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, Ms Hany Soh, Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC and all the Relayers, Good Evening and Welcome to the Singapore Cancer Society -TalkMed Relay For Life 2024.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Mr Seah Kian Peng, Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC, Ms Hany Soh, Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC and all the Relayers, Good Evening and Welcome to the Singapore Cancer Society -TalkMed Relay For Life 2024.

This evening, we come together to CELEBRATE the lives of those who have battled cancer, REMEMBER loved ones lost and those still in the fight and FIGHT BACK against a disease that has taken many lives. This year’s Singapore Cancer Society – TalkMed Relay For Life welcomes more than 4,000 participants at the 100PLUS Promenade, at the Singapore Sports Hub. It is heartening to see so many people here in support of those impacted by cancer. All of you are making a difference to the cancer warriors’ journey.

For the past 60 years, Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) has been working hard on Minimising Cancer and Maximising Lives. We now offer an integrated continuum of care from cancer control and prevention to patient support services, to survivorship and palliative care. Our programmes are planned with the cancer warriors and their guardians in mind; supporting them through the various stages of their cancer journey from screening to providing financial and welfare services, psychosocial support, survivorship activities, rehabilitation programmes and hospice care. SCS has organised Relay for Life since 2017.

This is the 8th edition of the Relay for Life, and it is being held in conjunction with SCS’s 60th anniversary. To mark this special occasion, this year’s relay will feature special highlights including the launch of SCS’s first roving exhibition called “Living Life in Lavender – Cancer Never Had Me.” The exhibit will immerse visitors in the journey of cancer warriors and guardians. I urge you to visit it.

Community Support

This year, SCS is honoured to have President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as our Guest of Honour. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to express our gratitude to President Tharman for gracing Relay For Life as the Patron of the Singapore Cancer Society and joining us in this collective fight against cancer. As President Tharman mentioned at his World Cancer Day message on 4 February this year, “Too many of us still lose our loved ones and friends to this disease, that is why I want to support every effort, to prevent cancer and to bring hope to those battling cancer.” Thank you, President Tharman.

We are encouraged that many of SCS’s partners in the fight against cancer have joined us today – our friends from the 2 major cancer centres – National Cancer Centre Singapore and National Cancer Institute, Singapore; key players in the healthcare sector including SingHealth, National University Health System, Singapore Hospice Council; as well as government partners on the HealthierSG journey – Ministry of Health, Agency for Integrated Care, Health Promotion Board, and Sport SG, ActiveSG and others. We also have our event partners whom we will invite on stage shortly; however, I would like to make a special mention to our title event partner TalkMed Group who has supported us over the years. Thank you for making Relay For Life 2024 possible. We are also encouraged to see Relay For Life has mobilised an army of almost 700 SCS volunteers, supporting us in various roles to make this event an amazing one. Our cancer patients and families deeply appreciate the community standing by them. We are also fortunate to have community volunteers from SISTIC Singapore, School of Science and Technology, Pei Hwa Secondary School NPCC, Temasek Meridian Secondary School, DS Education and DailyMoms. Your commitment to the cancer course is heartening.

We could not have done this without the unwavering support of fellow Singaporean artistes, celebrities and influencers in driving the cancer awareness message home. We have over 12 of them who have taken time out of their busy schedules to entertain, uplift and celebrate with us today. On behalf of SCS, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to making this event a great success.

Call to Action

And now, I am pleased to share that Relay For Life 2024 has raised $1.33 million to date. But supporting the cause cannot end here. Every dollar makes a difference to the cancer warrior ad their families. All monies raised will fund the Singapore Cancer Society’s programmes, which are specially curated to support the cancer community at each stage of the cancer journey. So, please continue your generous support! 

It’s not too late to give. Please continue to fundraise for Relay For Life until 30th April. Please spread the word and help us make a difference in the lives of those impacted by cancer! 

In closing, to everyone here who has been impacted by cancer – you may be a survivor, a loved one, or someone still in the midst of the battle. Your resilience inspires us. Look around and know that all of us here are standing with you. You never fight alone. I wish everyone a great evening. Have a wonderful Relay For Life 2024! Thank you

Closing Speech at Relay For Life 2024 by Relay For Life Chairman, Mr Mak Hoe Kit

Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law

Our Cancer Community, Supporters, Volunteers, Sponsors & Friends

A very good morning to everyone. 

Congratulations on nearing the end of this 15-hour relay! Together, we have left a legacy of strength and hope. Your efforts will inspire others and send a powerful message that the fight against cancer never sleeps. Only together can we prevail. 

So much has happened since last night. To provide a recap, we were honoured by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who flagged off the Survivor’s Lap to celebrate survivors who have won the fight against cancer. Following that, the 100KM Relay started at 8.30pm with over 3,000 participants. My warmest congratulations to all teams and individuals who completed this milestone relay – let’s give them a round of applause!

Cancer is a battle no one fights alone. That’s why it’s time that we kick off our Fight Back ceremony. In this segment of the event, we commit to stand together and support those who are still fighting the fight against cancer. For a start, let’s give a round of applause to all the brave cancer warriors and guardians in our midst!

Appreciation to volunteers and supporters

Before I leave you to enjoy the ceremony, SCS would like to express our gratitude again to each and every one of you for supporting Relay For Life. With everyone’s support we have raised more than $1.33 Million. This will greatly sustain and scale up Singapore Cancer Society’s programmes that serves the cancer community. Thank you for your vote of confidence! Don’t forget that you can continue to fundraise for Relay For Life s until April 30th 2024. So please continue to spread the word and support this worthy cause. 

Finally, I want to thank the organising committee who have made Relay For Life, Singapore’s only overnight relay challenge a big success!

Thank you very much and see all of you again at Relay For Life 2025!

21 April 2024